Hansen nail polish cracks under hype

From Kevlar-laced nail strengtheners to polishes colored all the shades of a rainbow, Sally Hansen is usually top dog when it comes to nail care.

Recently, Miss Hansen debuted what was sure to be the next big thing in nails: Crackle Overcoat.

Available in eight colors at $6.99 a pop, the polish claims to provide a crackle paint-like effect.

When applied over dry nail color, Crackle Overcoat claims to chip and recede, leaving a grungy mix of colors behind.

As a nail connoisseur who remembers the first bottle of glittery purple nail polish I first received as a little girl, I was giddy to try this product.

After snatching the last bottle of “cherry smash,” a bright red color, at my local CVS, I rushed home to try it out. Per Sally’s directions, I first applied two coats of black polish and allowed it to dry.

Then, with great anticipation, I brushed a thin layer of red crackle on top and waited for the magic to happen. And I waited. And I waited some more.

The bottle doesn’t denote how long it should take for the crackle effect to develop, but in my trial it took nearly a half hour to fully appear.

Despite the wait, I was excited to see the results.

You can imagine how quickly that excitement faded when I was left with nails that looked better suited for Freddy Krueger.

Not only was the end result a dark maroon color that was a far cry from the candy apple red shown on the bottle, the crackling did not leave the shiny, smooth job you normally get when using Sally Hansen products.

The texture was bumpy and left divots in my nails. The overall look would have been nice for a Halloween costume, but it just looked downright ugly otherwise.

To make matters worse, the crackle began chipping away before the night was even through.

Crackle Overcoat is a rare miss in Sally Hansen’s line of nail products.

If you find yourself tempted by the brightly colored bottles, save a buck and buy a bottle of Sally’s Xtreme Wear instead — it’s one of the best, most long-lasting nail polishes money can buy.